Beta Testing in Windows Dev Center - windows-store-apps

I'm very, very new to Windows Dev Center, and I'm hoping someone will be able to clear some things up for me. There is an app already within the Store and I want to submit a new version of the app after beta testing. From what I have researched, you can add another submission to the app, and publish it to the store. Then when it's in the store, I'm able to define the visibility of the app. This link is where I get this information. But, if I do this, does this mean that the previous submission is now null and void and can't be found? I think that would be the case? Is there no way to beta test the new version of the app without taking the current version out of the store? Is it recommended to upload a new app named "Blah Blah Beta" and then create a new submission on the original app after the beta gets the okay?
I'm used to iTunes connect and how they do the beta testing, so I'm not sure of the proper protocol in the Windows Dev Center. iTunes Connect you're able to have the current version in the app store, and upload new builds that can be tested.
I hope someone can clarify this for me
Thanks in advance.

Related

Possible ways to deploy an application to Windows Phone Store using automated tool/process

Is it possible to submit a new app or update an existing app to Windows Phone store with any automate process instead of uploading it manually?
Please suggest the solutions for the same.
I found few automated tools for ios application submission like fastlane
Not possible at the moment and no indication about such feature coming.
There may be such functionality soon.
From https://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/2016/03/31/announcing-new-dev-center-capabilities-to-increase-app-revenue-and-streamline-management/:
The new Windows Store submission API will be made available in
preview, beginning today and rolling out in waves. This new API offers
a subset of functionality provided by Dev Center as a REST API and
supports these actions for published apps: submitting updates,
modifying metadata, and adding/removing in-app products. You can
request access to the preview through the “Feedback” tab in Dev Center
by selecting “Submission API” in the “Suggestions” tab. Access will be
granted in waves, beginning with a small group of developers. Build
session: https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2016/B839

How to publish Windows Store App with enterpriseAuthentication and sharedUserCertificates

I am a developer who is new to Windows Store development.
I wrote one Windows Store App and tried to upload it, yet I encounter some errors after submit the appxupload file.
The error messages are shown as below:
I have no idea how to make my developer account authorized to publish apps with the capability it mentioned. Is there a different set of capability for different developer account for Windows Store Application?
Can anyone tell me how to fix this?
Thank you!

"Can't install company app" on Windows Phone 8

I've developed a company app for Windows Phone 8, and have gone through all the recommended steps to set it up for installation. I have a Symantec code-signing certificate, and I have generated my Application Enrollment Token and my signed XAP, which I am hosting in a public folder on OneDrive. I generated the XAP using the BuildMDILXap.ps1 script, which ran without errors. I haven't bothered with a company hub app, since we're only distributing a single app.
The AET loads OK on the phone, and asks if I would like to add the workplace account. I click "add", the dialogue box disappears, and no error comes up. There is no confirmation message, however I don't know if I should expect one.
When I load up the XAP, I get the message "Can't install company app. There's a problem with this company app. Contact your company's support person for help."
The phone has been developer unlocked (which of course isn't necessary), and I've had the app side-loaded and running on it successfully before. It was uninstalled before attempting the above, however.
I'm not sure what to do from here. I've tried recompiling and re-signing the XAP and re-generating the AET, but nothing seems to work.
After fruitlessly trying to solve this problem, I found a workaround that does what I need.
It turns out that you can post apps to the public app store, but hide them from searches, essentially making them private to anyone that doesn't have the link. That solves my first problem, getting the app published in a way that my client can access without me needing to have developer licenses for each of their phones.
The downside with that solution is that you still have to wait a few days for an update to be approved, which isn't the greatest when you're still beta-testing and need to make quick changes. However, Microsoft also have a beta program for Windows Phone apps. By designating the app as Beta, submission happens automatically within 2 hours, but you have to restrict access to specific Microsoft accounts. The latter isn't a problem because the number of devices using the app is relatively small.
This removes the need for a corporate app store in my case, and saves the expense of a certificate and the fiddling around that goes with it.

Is it programmatically possible to update a windows store apps from within the app?

Is there an API that allows to me to programmatically pull the latest update from the store and refresh the current version that the user is using? If not, is it possible for the current app to programmatically know that there is a new version available?
Any samples/examples would be highly appreciated.
You can't programmatically install any Store software. But you can programmatically open the Store to let it do the user manually.
That said, there's no official Store API which you could ask about app versions (you might be able to parse the Store's HTML pages, but I recommend against this approach).
What you can do: Put a small XML file on your website which contains the latest app version number. Your app then can read this file and compare this desired version against the running app's version. If the app is outdated, the app can show a message box to the user.
I ended up using WNS and Azure Notification Hub to send a push notification to the app when it is launched. The notification is in the form of a toast message that essentially states that a new release is available. But if you updated/downloaded the app after xx/xx/xxxx, no updates are necessary.
I know it is a little cludgy but at least the users now know that the version of the app that they are using may be dated. I control the notification through Azure Mobile Service (which is free for up to 10 apps) and can fully modify the actual script.

How to publish new version of Chrome Extension only to testers

I have a chrome extension with a lot of users, and I want to update it. I have everything ready but I need to test the update in order to make sure that the current users won't lose the data. Is there any way to publish the new version only to the trusted testers?
I created a tester group.
I insert trusted testers e-mail accounts.
I am signed to Google Chrome browser under the testing account
I am signed to Google Chrome webstore under the testing account
But I still can't see the new version. The button "Publish to tester accounts" is only on the unpublished extension.
The only way I was able to publish a new version to testers is by doing exactly that, creating a new version specifically for testing.
The way that the dashboard is currently set up you would have to un-publish your current application before you can publish it to the test accounts, and that is something I doubt you want to do.
So in your case, I'd do the following
Set up a 'testing' version of your application with your current code.
Publish it to your test group and have them use it for a while until
they have the data you are concerned about.
Update the 'testing' version with your changes and see if the data
is missing.
Google has recently solved this with a new update.
So right now there is a option to publish the new version just to the testers.
The extension will be hidden for a while, but when you publish it again to public, it is all done.